Polymer anchored Ni(II) complex was synthesised by sequential attachment of O-phenylenediamine and nickel chloride to chloromethylated styrene-divinyl benzene copolymer with 6% cross-linking. Synthesised catalyst, named 6 OPDA-Ni(II), was characterised by different techniques, such as FTIR, reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, ESR, SEM and TGA. Various physico-chemical properties, such as moisture content, bulk density, surface area and swelling behaviour, in different solvents were also studied. Catalytic activity of this catalyst was tested for oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde by varying the temperature of the system as well as the concentration of the substrate and catalyst. The values of energy of activation and entropy of activation have been evaluated from kinetic data. A probable reaction mechanism has been proposed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.